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                                Be Ye Holy!

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By David Wilkerson
ca. 1982
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          Three months after Israel left Egypt, they arrived at
          the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp. Moses climbed
          that rugged mountain to commune with the Lord. God
          called to him and said:

          "I am going to come to you in the form of a dark cloud
          so that the people themselves can hear me when I talk
          to you, and then they will always believe you. Go down
          and get the people ready for my visit.... Sanctify
          them....

          On the morning of the third day there was an awesome
          thunder and lightning storm, and a huge cloud came down
          upon the mountain.... All Mount Sinai was covered with
          smoke because Jehovah descended upon it in the form of
          fire.... The whole mountain shook with a violent
          earthquake....

          As the trumpet blast grew louder and louder, Moses
          spoke - and God thundered his reply..." (Exodus 19:9-19
          L.B.)

          What did God thunder to Moses and His chosen people?
          These words:

          "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests. A holy
          people..." (Exodus 19:6).

          There is an earth-shaking prophecy in Hebrews about to
          be revealed at this time. God has promised to speak
          once more - just as He did at Mount Sinai!

          "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath
          promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth
          only, but also heaven..." (Hebrews 12:26).

          "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh... for if
          they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth,
          much more shall we not escape... if we turn away from
          him that speaketh from heaven..."(Hebrews 12:25).

          Once again God is speaking from heaven. The message is
          the same as it was in Moses' day. Our God is even now
          thundering this awesome command.

          "Be ye holy - even as I am holy!" (I Peter 1:16).

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                       God Demands Perfect Holiness!

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          We can't escape the language of the Scripture! We dare
          not back away from God's description of those who are
          called:

               holy and without blame
               glorious, without spot or wrinkle
               holy, unblamable, unreprovable
               righteous, pure, clean
               cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh

          The whole world knows from sad experience this command
          to be holy like God is absolutely impossible! Scripture
          tells us -

          "There is none righteous - no not one... there is none
          that doeth good..." (Romans 3:10-12).

          We have all sinned and come up short of God's holiness.
          All mankind has miserably failed to obey the command to
          be holy like God. God did not say, "Be holy! He said,
          "Be holy, even as I am!" As this age becomes more and
          more corrupt and filthy, the thundering call to
          holiness will grow louder and louder in the hearts of
          men.

          There are only three ways to respond to God's command
          to be holy. At this very hour you are in the throes of
          one of these responses.

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                  I. The First Response Is To Just Give Up
                      And Quit Trying The Impossible.

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          I've preached in a prison ward in Mexico City to more
          than 150 rapists and murders. I've ministered to some
          of the most sinful people on earth, including
          prostitutes, gangsters, drug pushers, and skid-row
          alcoholics. One question always comes to mind - "How
          did he, or she, get like this? How did a once tender
          child turn out to be so wicked and unholy? How did
          devil get such a hold on them?"

          The same question could be asked about the Jews who
          heard God speak audibly at Mount Sinai: "How could
          people ever forget the thunder, the lightening, the
          trumpet sounds, the supernatural smoke, the violent
          earthquake - and the cosmic voice of Almighty God? How
          could they turn out to be such wicked, vile,
          adulterous, and unholy people?" For six days these
          people saw God's glory - "And the sight of the glory of
          the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the
          mount in the eyes of the children of Israel..." (Exodus
          24:17). Then, forty days later, those very same people
          - who had fallen prostrate on the ground because of
          God's holy presence - danced naked around a golden calf
          - worshiped a dead idol - played, fornicated, caroused
          - totally corrupted! Just 40 days from heaven to hell!

          God was enraged! He commanded Moses - "Get thee down to
          your people - how quickly they have turned away from me
          and my command to be a holy people..." (Exodus 32:7,
          8).

          There was nothing like it in the history of the world.
          In just 40 days, a holy people - and a holy priesthood
          - had corrupted themselves. Aaron, the high priest, had
          been on top of Mount Sinai with Moses. "He, too... saw
          the God of Israel... walking on a brilliant pavement of
          sapphire stones..." (Exodus 24:10). How could a man who
          actually saw the glory of God turn away so quickly,
          mold a golden calf, build an altar to it, and invite
          all of Israel to fall down and worship it?

          The reason for this sudden rebellion goes back to Mount
          Sinai - back to that thundering voice - back to God's
          command - "Be ye holy!"

          Behind all rebellion is an anger toward God for making
          what we believe are impossible demands!

          For days the Israelites sat brooding in their tents -
          full of fear of a holy God who demanded holiness from
          them. It soon began to dawn on them how impossible it
          was. I see them going from tent to tent, gathering in
          small groups and venting their anger: "How can we ever
          live up to such an impossible demand? How can we be
          like God? Someone says the unthinkable - "Well, I know
          what I'm going to do - I refuse to live in fear! I
          won't serve a God of fear - a God who makes such
          impossible demands!"

          Soon the rebellion spread like wildfire. People began
          saying, "Why would that God of Moses bring us out into
          the wilderness, knowing how weak and frail we are, and
          allow us to be tempted - and on top of it all, demand
          the impossible from us?"

          Even Aaron, the high priest, must have given in to this
          anger - this feeling of helplessness. He had seen the
          holiness of God and it seemed so high and unreachable.
          He came off Mount Sinai to the reality of his own
          sinfulness! Finally, he too was saying, "What's the use
          - I'll never make it - I'm too weak and sinful."

          The world is mad at God! Angry He brought them into a
          wilderness of temptation and sin - made them tremble
          with fear - then demanded they be holy and pure! And,
          worst of all - to their way of thinking - no one to
          show them how to be holy and good!

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            II. Another Response To God's Demand For Holiness Is
              - Do The Very Best, Humanly Possible, To Obey!

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          What pain, what suffering, what superhuman effort are
          endured by zealous people trying to obey God's command
          to be holy! Paul said of them:

          "I give them credit for having a zeal for God, but it
          is misdirected.... Because they are ignorant of God's
          righteousness, they go about to establish their own
          righteousness, having not submitted themselves to the
          righteousness of God..." (Romans 10:2,3).

          They hear God thundering His command, Be ye holy!" So
          they answer, "I'll be holy - if it kills me!" They live
          under a terrible burden by not knowing the Scriptures!
          They want to be holy so they try to obey God through
          sheer willpower.

               After all, doesn't the Bible say:
               Shun the very appearance of evil
               Resist the devil and he will flee from you
               Lay aside the sin that easily besets you
               Put off the old man and all its evil desires
               Yield not your body to temptation

          It sounds like God put all responsibility on us. So off
          we go - attempting to be holy!

          Some give up smoking, drinking, dancing, card playing -
          even theater-going. Others try to please God by
          fasting, praying, and pleading with Him to "take away
          all my evil desires." One promise after another is made
          - only to be broken! Sometimes, through superhuman
          efforts, they can last a week, a month, or longer - and
          not give into besetting sin. Then just as they think
          the victory is won, back down they go! Tempted,
          defeated - and left in despair!

          Why? Because unless they submit to the righteousness of
          Christ by faith, it is all in vain. They have set
          themselves to an impossible task! All our good works
          must spring a from a pure heart, sanctified by faith in
          Christ's work on the cross.

          God despises every human effort to be holy - when it is
          done in man's own strength! He despises every book,
          every sermon, every doctrine that calls men to holiness
          through man-made rules and traditions. Entire holiness
          movements have been born through men's desire to do
          everything humanly possible to please God and be holy.
          A few have become absolute legalists.

          Church history is filled with ridiculous ideas on how
          to be holy. I have read of monks who slept on bundles
          of thorns and piles of broken glass. Others bound one
          foot, hopping around on one foot until they lost the
          use of the other. Simon Stylites stood for thirty years
          on top of a column, and when too weak to stay there, he
          had a post erected and chained himself to it. In the
          Middle Ages, long processions of flagellants traveled
          from country to country, moaning, weeping, singing sad
          songs of repentance, and whipping their bare backs as
          they marched. Thousands joined these processions in an
          effort to "whip out the evil."

          We're just as guilty. We've simply invented modern ways
          to create holiness. First, short hair was sinful - then
          long hair. Makeup and jewelry were thought by some to
          be worldly. Long sleeves and long dresses for women
          were considered holy. Cooking on Sunday or riding a
          bicycle on the Sabbath was sinful. Some thought you had
          to be poor to be holy. Others thought God expected a
          total withdrawal from society - and monasteries were
          begun.

          Think of all the books written by "holy" men. Men who
          have made holiness sound so unreachable - as if it took
          a lifetime of self-denial - affliction - mourning -
          long fasts and deep humility! These books sound so
          saintly - so holy and pure. But many of them are
          abominable in God's eyes. Because these so-called holy
          men never did submit to the righteousness of Christ - a
          gift given through faith alone.

          The apostle Paul said -
          "I want to be found in him, not having my own
          righteousness, which is of the Law [or works]... but
          that which is through the faith of Christ, the
          righteousness which is from God by faith..."
          (Philippians 3:9).

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             III. The Only Proper Response To God's Demand For
          Holiness Is Total Surrender To The Holiness Of Christ!

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          "But now the righteousness of God without the law is
          revealed... even the righteousness of God which is by
          faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
          believe: for there is no distinction... being made
          justified freely by his grace through the redemption
          that is in Christ Jesus..." (Romans 3:21-24).

          God has revealed to us a sure way to become absolutely
          holy and perfect in His sight - whereby all His
          children can live in absolute peace and joy, knowing
          God looks upon them as holy, pure, and unblamable. And
          this is all a free gift!

          His gift of holiness can never be a reward for anything
          we have done. It is an unearned, undeserved favor! An
          outright gift!

          "Wasn't Abraham accepted by God for all his good deeds?
          Didn't he earn his right to heaven by all the good
          things he did? No! For righteousness is a gift; if a
          person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn't be
          free - but it is! It is given to those who do not work
          for it. For God declares sinners to be holy in his
          sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from
          God's wrath..." (Romans 4:1-5 L.B.).

          Some argue - "I know that becoming holy is humanly
          impossible - but with God's help all things are
          possible." In other words - "I can make it if God will
          just help me out!" We seem to think we are to do the
          very best we can - then having done all we can - call
          on God to give us a little boost!

          Wrong! Dead wrong! We cannot be holy - even with God's
          help - because God will not assist a thief trying to
          climb in some other way than what He has opened.

          This is the dilemma so many Christians are in today.
          They pray - "Oh, God - don't you see how hard I'm
          trying? Don't you feel the agony of my heart? Don't you
          see how hard I'm fighting to stay pure? God - why don't
          you come with special power to help me in my struggle?"

          We think God should be delighted with our tearful
          efforts. We expect Him to be standing by, applauding
          our hard work - eager to pick us up when we fall. We
          assume He is pleased with all the struggling, the
          fighting against sin, the resisting temptation! But
          God's Word says, "If a man strive for mastery - yet is
          he not crowned, except he strives lawfully [according
          to God's rules]..." (I Timothy 2:5).

          God is not at all interested in Christians doing battle
          against certain sins. He is not interested in patching
          up their weak spots. He will have nothing to do with
          such pick-and-choose struggles. He wants more than that
          - He wants to put the robe of Christ's righteousness on
          those who hunger for holiness! He wants to exchange our
          filthy rags of self-righteousness for a spirit of
          holiness - a life of holiness - through faith in
          Christ. He wants to put an end to all our discouraging
          and useless struggles to be holy!

          Submission is the only way into God's holiness -
          "...submitting to the righteousness of Christ, through
          faith...."

          To submit means "to surrender the power of your will."
          With God there is no such thing as willpower - all
          power is His! He will permit no other power than His
          own! God demands absolute holiness for a reason - He
          wants us to be humbled by this demand! He watches over
          our struggles to be holy with patience - waiting for us
          to fail so miserably that we will run to His throne,
          fall on our knees and cry out, "It's hopeless! I will
          never be holy! I am weak - sensuous - sinful - I have
          no good in me at all!" this is the kind of repentance
          God is looking for - confessing the weakness of our
          futile efforts - denying that we have any power at all
          in ourselves.

          Beloved - hear this - you can never be clothed in
          Christ's holiness until you fall on your face before
          God's throne - naked, poor, wretched, weak, and totally
          helpless! You must once and for all admit you have no
          power in you to resist sin - that you have nothing to
          offer the Lord but a broken-down, defeated and helpless
          lump of clay. You must admit you can't be holy - even
          with help. You must be given holiness - as a gift.

          The greatest gift you can give to God is your faith
          that He will give you His holiness! Isaiah exulted:

          "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be
          joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with garments
          of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of
          righteousness.... So the Lord will cause righteousness
          to spring forth before all the nations..." (Isaiah 61:
          10, 11).

          All hell is about to break out on this doomed world of
          ours. Evil men and seducers will get even bolder and
          more violent. There will be nudity on prime time TV -
          cable stations showing X-rated movies. Satan has
          declared war on the saints! Corruption, adultery,
          drinking - sexual debauchery such as the world has
          never before witnessed. All around will be godlessness,
          fear, hardheartedness - mockery of all that is good and
          pure and holy!

          How shall we stand in such an hour? What is our
          defense? How do we stay holy in such a wicked age? What
          human being can resist the flood that is coming? Who
          can keep himself from being contaminated and spotted by
          it all? No one! Not by their own strength, that is.

          This is why this message of total surrender must grip
          our souls! Only God has the power to keep us holy - to
          present us to Himself a holy people without spot or
          wrinkle!

          Believe this - The God who gives us His holinessr - has
          the power to keep us in it! The safest place on earth
          is at the foot of the Cross - humbled before God's
          throne. The more wicked the times, the more we need to
          stay yielded! Stay submitted! Not giving up - but
          giving in!

          You can then know what it really means to walk in the
          Spirit - so as not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
          It means this: living at all times in a constant state
          of submission and yieldedness to God's power! Living in
          a state of total surrender - giving up all rights to
          power and self. Becoming totally dependent on God to
          perform all things for you, and through you.

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                       Be Ye Holy - Even As I Am Holy
                             - By Faith Alone!

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          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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